


like a fool, howling

by EmotionalSupportPuma



Category: Borderlands (Video Games)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Pining, Suggestive Themes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-07
Updated: 2019-10-07
Packaged: 2020-11-27 00:24:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,791
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20939255
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EmotionalSupportPuma/pseuds/EmotionalSupportPuma
Summary: Moze really doesn't want to admit she might be getting attached to someone or something other than Iron Bear, and when she does, of course it's out of something stupid like jealousy.





	like a fool, howling

**Author's Note:**

> tagged as suggestive just bc of language and mentions of them hooking up (not sure if that's the right tag tbh?)

Why did it have to be now, of all times? 

Why couldn't she have put it off, been oblivious until the end of all this shit (whenever that would be)? Even being in denial had its advantages when compared to  _ this _ . She didn't even have a word for it, these stupid, childish, annoying-  _ feelings  _ of all things. Like, wasn't she too old for this crap? Having a crush on the battlefield was about as smart as picking up a skag pup; cute at first, but you're likely to lose a finger before long. Well, maybe that was a bad example because crushes don't usually bite fingers off, but the premise was the same. Kind of.

The point was that Moze had sworn off getting too attached to anyone or anything that wasn't Iron Bear. He was the one constant in her life, and as far as she had been concerned until now, one constant was more than enough. More than that only meant a lot of heartbreak and trauma to bottle up, which Moze had plenty enough as it was. She had already let little bits of this weakness through the cracks. And Maya was dead now, so wasn't that even more reason to forget about being close to anyone?

It really should have been. Just Moze and Iron Bear. The other vault hunters were people she fought beside, people she drank with at the end of the day, but were they people she could be friends with? Sure. Were they people that were likely to get killed one of these days? Definitely. So, she laughed and drank and fought with them, but Moze didn't let things get further than that. After the mission was done or after they were all piss-drunk, she went back to her room alone and tuned up Iron Bear. That was how she liked it and how it should have stayed.

She supposed that the first mistake had been wanting some stress relief after a particularly rough mission. Almost dying could do that to ya. But Moze had standards and she wasn't about to shack up with just anyone aboard Sanctuary III. When she thought back on that night, she couldn't even quite remember how it hard started. Just that somehow, at some point, she had made it clear to Amara that she wanted to get fucked and the Siren was certainly her type. The rest of the evening Moze  _ could  _ remember, but now wasn't the time to delve into those memories. She was supposed to be convincing herself why  _ not  _ to get attached to the other vault hunter, not the opposite.

Which brought her to the present in a moment of rather unpleasant clarity. Laying on her side, the disgusting, thin layer of mud that seemed to cover all of Eden-6 beginning to cake itself onto the side of her face and into her hair.  _ That's going to be a bitch to wash later _ , Moze managed to think hazily as her vision swirled once more. What was happening again? Oh yeah, she had hopped out of their bandit technical for just a moment to inspect the broadcast tower nearby. She'd drawn the short straw this time around and it was her turn to climb up to it.  _ Ugh _ . That's when a handful of COV shitheads came flying by in cyclones and Moze had been struck head on by one of them.

It hadn't killed her on impact, which was rather unfortunate because she would have loved to respawn at the New-U station nearby and give the assholes a real run for their money. Instead, Moze was struggling to breathe as the result of, if she had to make a guess, several broken ribs and various other important bones. Why wasn't she dead yet? Stuck lying on the ground without even the energy to roll over, let alone lift an arm, the Gunner should have been an easy target to pick off. 

Her vision stopped swimming momentarily once more and Moze had her answer; Amara. That seemed to be the answer for everything she thought about lately, right? The beautifully terrifying woman who was currently the only thing standing between her and what would surely be a very painful death. Vivid blue arms sprung to life, easily batting away an approaching cyclone while the non-ethereal ones aimed precise shots at the driver. It was breathtaking to watch.

Or maybe that was the broken ribs talking. Pain splintered her lungs and Moze's vision blurred too much to continue watching the fight. She just closed them and tried to imagine what was happening based on what little she could hear with the ear that wasn't pressed into the mud. It wasn't difficult, the four of them had been fighting together for weeks and weeks now, Moze could imagine how any of them were fighting right now with ease. But she only wanted to think about the one. 

It's the last thing she sees, or thinks about seeing, before blissful unconsciousness takes over.

___

When Moze manages to peel her eyes open once more, everything is dark. She wasn't in the middle of respawning at the New-U station then. It hurt to suck in a long, steady breath of air. So, she hadn't rolled over face down in the mud either. Aching pain shot through her chest as the Gunner struggled to push herself into a sitting position. Probably not dreaming or dead, then. Which left few options other than being back on Sanctuary III. 

Now that she could feel around and her eyes were adjusting to the dark, Moze could recognize the space she had claimed as her own a few months back. Iron Bear was sitting in his usual spot looking a little worse for wear. She'd have to work out those dents once she could move without daggers stabbing into her lungs. Honestly, she'd given him touch ups through worse before, so maybe she'd fix the old mech up once she was back in the room. Moze wanted to figure out exactly how she'd gotten back here alive first.

Nobody batted an eye as she limped through the corridors to Moxxi's, people had stumbled around sporting much worse than bloody bandages. Even before Moze could pass the threshold she could hear an obnoxious bout of laughter from Zane. Inside the other three vault hunters were regaling a small, drunken crowd of the ships other passengers with some story or another. Her eyes were drawn to one of them in particular, watching the way Amara grinned and shifted in her seat while she waited for the best part of the tale, so that she could cut in and recount it herself. A tiger watching for the perfect moment to strike even in the less physical sense of things.

Moze waited a little ways off, finding an empty table to shoulder the most of her weight. Yeah, her left leg had definitely been broken and while the medpacks did a great job of speeding the healing process, they didn't take the soreness away. She watched as they, her...are they her friends by this point? Excitedly relive a battle from back on Promethea. It goes on for another few minutes and then Amara looks up, away from the people admiring her and Zane and Fl4k. The other two vault hunters take over the story when she falters.

The Siren smiles at Moze, all brightness and relief, like she was the last person she had expected to see listening to them all gloat. Amara excuses herself and begins to make her way across the bar. It isn't very far, but time seems to slow down just a little when Moze realizes it's about to just be the two of them. She draws in a breath in preparation of a greeting, something smooth something- they're interrupted before the conversation can even start.

A woman, following Amara from the crowd, all smiles and fawning adoration that suddenly make Moze's lip curl. The Siren isn't looking at her anymore, pausing to raise her eyebrows at this person practically clinging to her bicep.  _ Ugh. _ Moze doesn't even really register what they're talking about until Amara's words cut through her thoughts like a hot knife through butter.

"Sorry, but I don't think my girlfriend would appreciate that very much." The words are punctuated with a hearty laugh.

The fan stutters in embarrassment, disappearing just as quickly as she had shown up. When Amara looks back over at Moze her smile falters. She knows her own expression is dark, it would take too much energy to fight off the jealousy running circles in her gut.  _ See? This is just another reason why you should never have gotten close to- _ the angry thoughts are cut off as Amara reaches her.

"Hey, are you okay? Do you need more-" 

Moze doesn't let her finish as she growls, "You never told me you had a girlfriend."

Those beautiful eyes widen, she can almost see the surprise dancing in them.

"Are you joking?"

"No! I'm fine with being fuckbuddies, really, I am."  _ Actually more than fine. _ "But only if neither of us is involved. I'm not gonna sit here and let you cheat on someone with me. That's fucked up."

Moze isn't sure where this bout of confidence is coming from, having never felt the courage to give what was happening between Amara and her a name in the light of day. If they pretended it never happened outside of the bedroom, then she could continue pretending she still didn't care for anything other than herself and Iron Bear. But now, faced with the ugly feelings threatening to choke her into silence, Moze could no longer ignore that she felt  _ something _ for Amara. 

Across from her, the Siren was too stunned to do more than gape as she tried to comprehend Moze's outburst. It only made the anger bubble up more. And then Amara did just about the last thing that the Gunner expected to get in response.  _ She laughed.  _ The kind of deep, overwhelming laugh that brought tears to your eyes and stuttered in your throat after it went on for too long. 

"What's the matter with you?" Moze barked out, feeling her unhappiness twist around, just as confused as the rest of her. 

When Amara finally caught her breath again and could look into her eyes without sputtering into laughter again, she reached for Moze's hand. She wanted to pull away away from the touch, but once their hands were clasped she found that, really, she didn't. Confusion and annoyance kept a frown on her face even if they were beginning to weaken under Amara's gaze.

"Moze...I was under the impression that  _ you _ were my girlfriend."

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Everytime I have an idea like this I sit here like "oh hey just a lil drabble probs wont even break 100 words" and then I black out and suddenly woah there's almost 2k words :'3c
> 
> As always, all comments and constructive criticism are greatly appreciated and I hope you all have a lovely day/night!!!


End file.
